Tesla CEO Elon Musk Now Thinks He Could Sell 700,000 Model 3 Cars Each Year

As production of Telsa Inc.'s (TSLA - Get Report) Model 3 ramps up, Elon Musk's electric car-marker said Monday that it will sell $1.5 billion in notes. It also reportedly promised one big production number.

Unlike Tesla's last fundraising, which used convertible notes, the new notes offering would not dilute equity holders.

Tesla said Monday that it is in a period of "rapid scaling" following the July launch of the Model 3. The company receives about 1,800 net orders a day for its mass-market electric car, Musk told investors on Wednesday, putting total net reservations at 455,000.

On a call with investors hosted by Goldman Sachs to discuss the bond offering, Musk said he thinks Tesla could eventually produce 700,000 Model 3 cars each year, according to Electrek. Musk previously estimated 500,000.

"They are constantly spending on the next big innovation, whether the public knows what that is or not," James Albertine of Consumer Edge Research LLC. "The market should want to give innovative companies more capital as long as they perform, and Tesla is clearly performing."

Musk told investors during Tesla's Wednesday earnings call that the company was considering a debt offering but would not sell equity in this round of financing. "There may be some wisdom in having a cash cushion for unexpected events," Musk said, if there were, say, a "force majeure" event such as an earthquake in California.

Even without an unforeseen event, Tesla could use the cash. The electric car marker's cash burn, or negative free cash flow, came to $1.2 billion in the second quarter -- nearly double the $622 million spent in the previous quarter.

By late next year, Musk aims to produce cars at a rate of 500,000 per year, a meteoric increase in output. Last year the company produced 84,000 vehicles, which was a gain of 64% from the prior year.

The fundraising would be Tesla's second capital raise of the year. The company sold about $965 million in convertible notes and $400 million in stock in March. Tesla upsized that fundraising, from an initial target of $750 million in converts and $250 million in stock.

The notes announced Monday would mature in 2025, though Tesla did not disclose interest rates or other terms of the securities.